Supporting mental health at work

Today is Mental Health Day and this year, the theme is ‘Mental Health at Work’. This is something we’re really passionate about, here at The Outdoors Group, so we’re excited to dive into this a little bit today.

Why Does It Matter?

For those of us who work a full time job, based on average sleep and working hours, we spend 35% of our waking hours each week at work. That means we’re spending a third of our life, every week, in our place of work. This is why it’s so important that our mental health is supported in our working lives. It’s all very well and good having a fantastic support system outside of work and doing all the things that we know help us to have good mental health whilst not at work (such as exercise, diet, rest, time with loved ones…etc). But if our mental health isn’t acknowledged, supported, or respected whilst we’re at work, this is a bit of a moot point. It’s such a significant chunk of our time and can impact how we feel whilst at work, which in turn can massively impact how we feel in the rest of our lives.

What Challenges Do We Face?

Whilst attitudes towards mental health are changing, particularly compared to 10 or 20 years ago, people with mental ill health still face a lot of stigma and discrimination, particularly in the workplace. Research in 2022 found that only 32% of respondents felt comfortable talking about their mental health at work and 91% believed that those with mental health conditions are treated differently from their peers. At the same time, only 43% of companies were specifically training line managers to support staff with mental ill health (source) so whilst a lot of organisations are making the right noises around mental health, a lot of them haven’t yet started to walk the walk. Change needs to come from the top if we are going to effectively change the culture of workplaces when it comes to talking about, and supporting employees with their mental health.

What’s The Solution?

Now, we don’t claim to have all the answers. But we can share some of the things that we’re doing to try and create an environment where our colleagues feel able to talk openly about their mental health and seek support if needed.

• We have a dedicated Welfare Team whose role is to look after the wellbeing of our employees. This includes six free sessions of counselling for anyone who needs it each year, a bank of resources to support people with their mental health and their involvement in any projects or business decisions that have the potential to impact our staff
• Our Internal Communications team works hard to make sure that any comms to staff are written sensitively, inclusively and in a way that promotes looking after your mental health. We regularly share resources and information around these subjects on a company-wide level.
• We lead by example. Our Directors and Senior Leadership Team openly talk about mental health, both formally and informally, and continue to push the narrative that it’s OK to not be OK and that it’s OK to ask for help if you are struggling.
• With mental health being the 5th most common reason for taking a sick day (source), we make it clear to employees that it is OK to call in sick for reasons related to mental health and that it is a legitimate reason to take time off work.

We’re far from perfect but the wellbeing of our staff is one of our top priorities. We cannot expect them to be able to support some of the most vulnerable young people in Devon if we don’t support them ourselves. We want to be a workplace where our staff know that they can come as they are and be supported, no matter what’s happening for them outside of work. We continue to seek out ways to support our staff with their mental health and hope that in doing so, we can play our part in them having a healthy work-life balance and thriving, both in and out of work.

Author: Hannah Durdin, Forest School Leader & Content Officer

Date: Thursday 10th October 2024